Rationale

Below is the rationale for my typeface. The purpose of this is to explain the ideas behind the typeface and sell it to a potential client. I read some other type rationales from successful typographers such as colophon foundry to get a better understanding of the tone of voice this should be written in.

The name of my typeface, Zugriff Sans, comes from the German word for 'access'. My typeface is designed to make fine art more accessible to the general public. I translated it into German as a nod to the many influential German type designers.

"Zugriff Sans is a custom typeface commissioned for the Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2020 exhibition. The typeface aims to address issues surrounding the approachability of the contemporary art world for the general public. Zugriff Sans aims to address the intimidating nature of contemporary art for those who are unfamiliar through grounding it's visual language within the familia: simple, hand-made forms similar in tone to paper cutting and stencilling.

Zugriff Sans has been designed with the intention of welcoming viewers in to the rich, diverse world of contemporary British art. It is bold yet playful, classic yet contemporary. Hand-cut letter forms root the typeface within tradition, yet the unconventional structure of the characters provides the typeface with a contemporary edge.

A low x-height forces the horizontal strokes to expand and the apertures to close, providing a sense of gravity to the characters and increased visual assurance. The excessive weight of the characters above the x-height increases their connection to the baseline and their sense of groundedness. The interchangeable O and 0 add a unique interactive element with endless design possibilities that can be explored when it is applied to the exhibition's collateral."